The centre, more than three years in the planning, was the dream of the Mennonite Faith and Learning Society, formed to foster teaching and research on Anabaptist and Mennonite history, practice and values.

The first director of the new venture, Myron Penner, also TWU associate professor of philosophy and a member at Bakerview MB Church, Abbotsford, B.C., said the Centre will foster scholarly research, sponsor lectures on and off campus and organize conferences. It will enhance TWU student experience by exposing students to Anabaptist and Mennonite streams of Christian life and thought.

The large Mennonite community in B.C. and beyond frequently “needs additional theological leadership,” said John Redekop, former president of the Mennonite Faith and Learning Society and a Bakerview member, at the celebration. “This holds true particularly concerning the integration of Christian faith and practical questions in daily living.” Redekop said there is an urgent need for a venue, “an intellectually strong resource centre, where…people can grapple with their troubling questions of faith and life and find help from senior Anabaptist-Mennonite scholars and practitioners.

“With Mennonites largely integrated socially into the larger community, we need guidance and instruction about the practical dimensions of being a spiritually separated people.”

The Faith and Learning Society has also partnered with the University of the Fraser Valley though course offerings and inclusion in UFV’s new Peace Studies program.

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Humanitas Centre

Humanitas Anabaptist-Mennonite Centre is the product of a partnership between the Mennonite Faith and Learning Society (MFLS) and Trinity Western University. The MFLS is partnering with Trinity Western University to establish a multi-disciplinary research centre focused on bringing an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective to the integration of faith and learning.